Senators Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) announced Thursday they are launching a bipartisan investigation into Russian efforts to influence elections in the United States and abroad through the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism.
Graham and Whitehouse are the Chairman and Ranking Member of the subcommittee, respectively.
The subcommittee’s goals are fourfold: gain an understanding of the U.S. Intelligence Community’s (IC) assessment that Russia took an active interest and played a role in the 2016 elections; learn more about the methods Russia has used to target democratic countries and elections; explore avenues to help prevent and deter future foreign influences from affecting U.S. elections and institutions; and assure that Congress provides the FBI with the tools it needs to keep investigative work protected from political influence.
“We look forward to investigating Russia’s efforts to influence democratic elections, both here at home and abroad. Our goal is simple – to the fullest extent possible we want to shine a light on Russian activities to undermine democracy,” the senators said in a joint statement.
“While some of our efforts will have to be held behind closed doors due to security concerns, we also hope to have an open discussion before the American people about Russia’s strategies to undermine democracy. Our efforts will be guided by the belief that we have an obligation to follow the facts wherever they may lead,” they added.
The investigation echoes inquiries in both the House and Senate Intelligence Committees on the Russian hacks related to the 2016 election. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) and Ranking Member Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) previously said “this issue is not about party, but about country. The Committee will continue to follow the facts wherever they may lead.” (Defense Daily, Jan. 25).
However, this impending investigation looks to be broader than focusing just on the 2016 U.S. election, as the intelligence committees’ inquiries will, by also including Russia’s methods used to target democratic elections overall in various countries.
The senators said the exact timing of the investigation will be determined in the coming days.